A glider of mass 2.0 kg is moving at 10 m/s on a smooth horizontal air track towards…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · AP · Physics 1: Algebra-based · Linear Momentum · Linear Momentum
Problem
A glider of mass 2.0 kg is moving at 10 m/s on a smooth horizontal air track towards a second glider of mass 3.0 kg that is initially at rest. The collision between the two gliders is perfectly elastic.
(i) Calculate the speed and direction of each glider immediately after the collision.
(ii) Show numerically that the total kinetic energy of the two-glider system is the same before and after the collision.
(iii) Determine the percentage of the initial kinetic energy that is transferred to the second glider.